Julie Anne Gates
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Julie Anne Gates was born in London in 1963 but grew up in Cheam, Surrey, with her brother Andrew. Julie spent her early years as an artist, marriage and two children however soon found her finding a new life in Horsham, West Sussex, where she found and developed her love for history. `Storms and Shadows,' Julie's first novel was inspired by the haunting remains of Bramber Castle nearby, and in particular, a love of medieval history. `Call of the Raven,' recently published, was the natural sequel; to `Storms and Shadows,' and now Julie is currently working on a new novel `Windhall,' set in the Shetland Isles, which she hopes to complete later this year.
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Storms and Shadows
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Fiction; historical; supernatural; fantasy
Set in a troubled era in which King Henry II is at war with his sons, Storms and Shadows follows the fortunes of the de Braose family as they struggle to emerge as one of the most wealthy and influential families in medieval England. Responsible for the Abergavenny massacre of 1175, William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber and Lord of Abergavenny, rises high during Prince John’s accession to the throne and his turbulent reign as King. From Bramber Castle in Sussex to the wilderness of the Welsh Marches and over to the battlefields of France, the eventual confrontation between these two men sets in motion a devastating chain of events that eventually lead to William being stripped of his wealth and titles and his family being outlawed. Taken into service at Bramber Castle in Sussex, in the year 1182, Ailith is inexorably drawn towards her new mistress, the ill-fated Matilda de Braose. Life it seems is set to take one unexpected turn after another for Ailith in her new position at Bramber. The shocking realisation that her new mistress has the ability to see the future and sometimes the past by scrying is tempered by the fact that she is herself the seventh child of the seventh child and has her own gift of the sight. Not surprisingly she and Matilda begin to build a special bond with one another as Ailith gradually realises that there is connection between her new mistress and the recurring dreams she had as a child.
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Call of the Raven
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Fiction; historical; supernatural; fantasy
Llywelyn ap Ioworth's life is not easy. Haunted by his dead mistress Tangwystyl, and in love with his young wife, Joanna, illegitimate daughter of King John of England, his world is rocked when the ill-fated de Braose family cross his path with such devastating effect that the repercussions will ripple across the Kingdom and threaten the security of Wales. Entwined with these events runs the conflict between his legitimate son Dafydd, and his illegitimate son Gruffydd, over the succession to a kingdom already at odds with the King of England whose struggle to assert his own authority on the land ultimately ends with Llywelyn's dreams for an independent Wales after his death in tatters. Caught in the midst of it all Joanna struggles to be accepted by Llywelyn's children, born to a woman who cannot rest in her grave until she sees her son crowned as the next Prince of Wales. But Tangwystl is not alone in her battle to fulfil her dying wish, for on her death bed she had secured the promise of her ladies maid and confidant, Bronwyn, who's meddling in the dark arts unleashes forces beyond even her control....
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